Rotary commits $100m to curb resurgence of polio in Nigeria

Mr Bisi Adegoke, Rotary Governor, District 9125, said on Sunday that the Rotary Club was committing 100 million Dollars to prevent resurgence of polio meningitis in the country.

Adegoke, who disclosed this at a news conference in Ilorin, said that $33 million was contributed by Rotarians across the country while the remaining $66 million came from the rotary endowment fund.
The District Governor said that members of Rotary clubs across the country had never rested since the recent reported case of polio in Borno.
“Rotarians, who had never been to the north, are in the northern part of the country now vaccinating children against polio meningitis.
Nobody serve humanity than Rotarians. We commit our time, wealth to serve humanity,” he said.

Adegoke explained that rotary would not relent until polio is eradicated from the country, assuring the public that the battle would be won by the organisation.

The rotary leader said that an effort to eradicate the disease started 13 years ago without any contribution by the government.

He noted that rotary made a breakthrough in 2014 when Nigeria was declared a polio-free nation before a new case was reported in Borno some weeks ago.

He listed water and sanitation, disease prevention, economic empowerment and maternal healthcare as the six cardinal areas of intervention by the organisation.

He said rotary club would soon embark on surgical outreach in the country.

“24 surgeons of different specialisations are coming from India. It is going to be a week or 10-day long programme.

“Eight surgical theatres with required facilitates would be needed for the outreach,” he said.

Adegoke noted that local doctors were going to be trained, while drugs would be supplied to some hospitals in the country.

He added that rotary club would bring in some equipment for the outreach and hand them over to the hospitals to be used for the surgical outreach.